vagus

English

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin vagus (“wandering, rambling, strolling”).

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈveɪɡəs/
  • Rhymes: -eɪɡəs
  • Hyphenation: va‧gus

Noun

vagus (plural vagi)

  1. (Roman Catholicism) A homeless person or vagrant.
    • 1922, “Domicile”, in The Catholic encyclopedia, page 270:
      Though not referred in the Code as a domicile of origin, a child's place of origin is fixed by the place where his father had his domicile or, in defect of domicile, his quasi-domicile when the child was born, or where the mother had hers if the child was illegitimate or posthumous; if the parents were vagi it is the place where the child was born; if the child was a foundling the place where it was discovered.
  2. The vagus nerve.

Latin

Etymology

Uncertain. De Vaan suggests from Proto-Italic *wagos, from Proto-Indo-European *Hwog-o-s, and compares this form to Old Norse vakka (“to totter”), Old High German wankon (“to totter”), winkan (“to waver, stagger”), Old English wincian (“to nod”).[1] Compare with Old English waġian, English wag, and English vag.

Pronunciation

Adjective

vagus (feminine vaga, neuter vagum); first/second declension

  1. wandering, rambling, strolling
  2. (figuratively) uncertain, vague

Inflection

First/second declension.

Number Singular Plural
Case / Gender Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative vagus vaga vagum vagī vagae vaga
Genitive vagī vagae vagī vagōrum vagārum vagōrum
Dative vagō vagae vagō vagīs vagīs vagīs
Accusative vagum vagam vagum vagōs vagās vaga
Ablative vagō vagā vagō vagīs vagīs vagīs
Vocative vage vaga vagum vagī vagae vaga

Derived terms

Descendants
  • Czech: vágní
  • Danish: vag (via Old French)
  • Dutch: vaag (via Old French)
  • English: vague (via Old French)
  • French: vague
  • Galician: vago
  • Italian: vago
  • Portuguese: vago
  • Spanish: vago
  • Slovak: vágny
  • Swedish: vag (via Old French)

References
  1. De Vaan, Michiel (2008), “vagus”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, page 651

Further reading
  • vagus in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
  • vagus in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • vagus in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • vagus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
  • vagus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
  • Carl Meissner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co.
    • the planets: stellae errantes, vagae
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